


Meet Me in Budapest

by shopfront



Category: Gossip Girl
Genre: F/F, Missing Scene, New Relationship, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-03
Updated: 2010-04-03
Packaged: 2017-10-08 16:19:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopfront/pseuds/shopfront
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nate bails on his travel plans with Vanessa, Serena steps into the gap.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meet Me in Budapest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [voleuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/voleuse/gifts).



"Hey, Vanessa. Do you want another drink?" Serena signaled the bartender without waiting for a reply as she dropped into the barseat next to her.

"No, no, I'm fine. Really. One gigantic cocktail is more than enough for me, but thank you."

"Are you sure?" Serena asked with wide, earnest eyes. "Drinks are on me!"

"Absolutely." Serena hesitated, but Vanessa kept nodding so she shrugged and just requested a fresh drink for herself.

"Where did Nate go? Wasn't he just over here?"

"He went after Blair," Vanessa said, and twirled her empty glass. "Which is fine, really. It's great that they can be friends."

"It is, especially right now with Chuck and Gossip Girl and everything. Blair needs her friends."

"Right. It's good to get along post-break-up. Like you and Dan did… eventually."

"And like you and Nate," Serena beamed and tipped back her head to finish off her martini. Vanessa smiled weakly, and watched Serena's hair sway as she swallowed. Her own glass lurched around in circles on the bar top under her fingers.

"Exactly."

"Are you really sure you don't want another drink. You just seem a little fixated on that glass."

Vanessa's head shot up and her cheeks heated, but Serena only looked amused. Her face was creased with the beginnings of laughter and her eyes twinkled.

"They do great martinis here, you should try one," she urged, raising her glass and waggling it at Vanessa.

"I don't really…" Vanessa started, but Serena was already waving the bartender over again. She rolled her eyes and laughed, and Serena's smile widened.

"Two more martinis please," Serena ordered before quickly turning back to Vanessa. "You'll love it, I promise, and I think after today we all need one."

"Or two or three?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow and tilted her head towards Serena's own empty glass. Serena sighed, and pushed the glass away from herself.

"It's been a really, really long day."

"That it has, but you still might want to consider slowing down a little."

"I've been talking more than I've been drinking," Serena insisted, and accepted a fresh martini with a little sheepish shrug at Vanessa. "I think Blair will want to leave soon, anyway.

"So it's just one for the road then? And we're just killing time until Nate and Blair are done chatting?"

"Well, actually, I have been hoping I'd find a chance to talk to you. Are you still looking for a travelling buddy?"

"I'm sorry?" Vanessa paused, her drink half way to her lips.

"I've been planning to spend the summer in Europe for, oh, ages, and when I heard Nate bailed on your own Europe plans I thought maybe we could do some of our travelling together?" Serena bit her lip and raised her eyebrows, watching Vanessa closely over the brim of her martini glass.

"Are you serious? I mean, it's just that- well- I'm planning to backpack."

"I know, Nate told me all about it."

"Right," Vanessa said, and put her martini back down untouched. "It's just, to be honest, you've always struck me as a poolside cocktails kind of tourist."

Serena laughed delightedly.

"I don't want to live out of a backpack all summer," she giggled. "And there are a few events I want to be at that you might say aren't exactly backpacker friendly. I just thought we could compare itineraries, maybe find a few places to meet up for a little while; see some the sights with some company, that's all. I can always have my luggage for the rest of my trip sent on ahead, I don't mind roughing it when I'm with you."

"So you just want to, what, slum it on occasion?"

"No. No! I just want to…," she stopped and waved her hand around the room, "get away from all this for a little while. The glitz and the drama."

"And, what, Europe isn't far enough away already?"

"Well," Serena sighed. "Most of the people in this room summer in Europe on a semi-regular basis, anyway."

"True-"

"I just thought it might be nice to get off the rich person travel circuit a little this summer, and that if I was doing that anyway, you might like a familiar face to hang out with."

Vanessa nodded slowly, and watched Serena. Her lips quirked at the corners and she gave Vanessa a little questioning smile.

"Okay. Email me your travel plans, and we'll see what we can sort out."

"Ooh!" Serena bounced up out of her seat, clapping, and threw her arms around Vanessa. She pulled back quickly when Vanessa nearly toppled backwards off her own seat in surprise, but she kept her hands on Vanessa's shoulders and was practically vibrating with excitement.

"It's going to be great," she insisted, laughing, and Vanessa couldn't help but grin back.

 

*** * * * ***

 

When Nate suddenly appeared, asking to go backpacking, Vanessa found herself at a complete loss for what to say. Serena's name bubbled up to her lips, but she bit it back at the last moment. Serena wouldn't be a deterrent, Nate would just happily agree to tag along with the both of them.

So she said she was taking someone else and while it was the truth, it was lacking one little detail to make it plausible. But Nate kept talking and she felt her resolve start to sway. Maybe they could all go as friends? It wasn't like she was close to Serena, so who knew. Nate could actually make things go smoother.

She crumbled, but she found it hard to care. Backpacking with both of them was going to be fun.

Vanessa's phone beeped as she collected her coffee.

_Something came up, can't meet up with you immediately. Will try to find you later. Serena._

"Who was that?" Nate asked with a nod towards her own phone, once the shock of Georgina had worn off and they were heading for the door.

"It was my back-up travelling buddy, so you better watch it," she said, and joined in with Dan's laughter.

Nate chuckled and shook his head ruefully.

"I guess I better be the best back-packing companion you've ever had then, huh."

"You betcha," Vanessa replied and arm-bumped him.

It was still going to be fun, she told herself. Just be like we originally planned. That was fine, really.

 

*** * * * ***

 

Serena tracked her down in Venice.

Vanessa hadn't been expecting her and was curled up in her hostel bunk reviewing her itinerary and budget one last time before venturing out into the city, when she came sailing through the door.

"You are so difficult to find!" she chirped, while Vanessa stared. She dropped a small handbag on another of the beds, and then collapsed beside it. "I managed to talk the receptionist into telling me what room you were booked in-"

"Um, wow!"

"- and getting me a bed in here, too."

"I didn't expect to see you here. You said you'd meet me in Budapest."   
"I was going to, but I still had a copy of your travel plans and I found myself with time to spare so I thought I'd drop in."

"Huh." Vanessa looked at the papers spread across the lap and her bed, and then looked back up at Serena. "So you came all the way here just to say… hi?"

"I thought maybe we could start travelling together a little sooner than we planned. You don't mind, do you?" Serena twisted her hands together and chewed on her lower lip, and Vanessa didn't have the heart to say no.

Not that she did, actually, mind. She was just having a little trouble processing.

"No, no of course not! It's really great to see you, you just surprised me."

"Oh. Good! And is Nate here? Or not here? I called Blair last week and she said Nate left his internship, and then I had such a run around out front because I had them looking for two bookings, but they only had you booked in. No Nate Archibald anywhere to be found, and only one bed under your name."

Vanessa nodded, and felt her smile turn strained. She shoved all of her mess out of her lap and swung her feet over the side of the bed, and planted her hands firmly on her knees.

"He bailed. Again."

Serena blinked, and then her mouth dropped open.

"Oh, no."

"His grandfather followed us to Rome and guilted him back onto a plane after we'd only been in the country for a few days. They're probably back in New York by now."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Vanessa frowned and shook her head. "I wasn't really surprised. He did do it before."

"Still, he just left you on your own in a foreign country."

"Well, hey, I was planning to travel on my own after he bailed the first time. It wasn't exactly difficult for me to just keep going alone when he did it again."

Serena sighed and sunk back against the mattress, looking forlorn.

"That's not like Nate."

"Actually, it sort of is. At least where his grandfather is involved. But it doesn't matter. Now, please tell me you have reasonable luggage for backpacking," Vanessa said, and eyed Serena's giant handbag. "And that you didn't just drop expensive luggage at the desk and leave it to the mercy of the hostel staff."

"I didn't leave anything out front. There was a bit of a hiccup with my bags. I had to change my destination at the last minute, and then it all somehow got lost on the way there and I didn't have time to hang around and sort it out."

"Oh?" Vanessa said, as she started tidying up the papers she'd shoved aside, and carefully slipped them back into their places in her bag.

"It's really not important, nothing came out of it. But it has left me luggage-less, so now you can make absolutely sure I choose backpack appropriate items, because you can help me go buy them."

"You're kidding. You have nothing but that handbag?"

"Nope." Serena smiled sunnily, and bounded to her feet. "But I'm dying to check out the local shops. We could go replace my things today?"

"I think we'd better!"

Vanessa gathered up her own bag to follow, and they nearly collided in the doorway. Serena laughed and apologised, and Vanessa meant to say it was fine, but she got distracted by Serena's hair brushing her own shoulder and throat.

It happened quickly after that. They ducked in and out of shops, and searched for markets, and Vanessa was constantly pulling out her Europe phrase book because Serena didn't have one. They managed to find Serena a sensible bag (that would end up falling apart only three weeks later) and Vanessa was surprised at how easy it was to get Serena to only make practical backpacking-appropriate purchases.

Serena surprised her that day.

"I've had fun," Serena told Vanessa over dinner. "It's nice to hang out together, away from everything."

"You mean away from Dan?" Vanessa chuckled.

"Right. But everyone else, too. Don't get me wrong, Dan's great, and I love my friends but things just get so complicated sometimes."

Vanessa murmured agreement, and Serena's eyes shined approval at her. Everything got a little blurred after that. Perhaps it was too much wine, or just the heady excitement of travel, but Vanessa found herself reaching for things at the same time as Serena. Their hands brushed over bread, and glasses, and then they decided to share a dessert and suddenly their cutlery was getting tangled up together each time they scooped up another mouthful of chocolate.

Each soft touch of skin or tinny clink of forks sent a tingle up her arm, which was ridiculous, because she was in Italy with Serena. Not Nate.

But it was a lovely night. Serena insisted on paying the bill to celebrate her first day backpacking, and then they started off back to the hostel, and the atmosphere got under her skin.

"If you want to go do something else without me, I don't mind," Serena insisted. "I'm just still a little jetlagged."

"Don't be silly, I've had a few too many late nights myself recently," Vanessa reassured her, and then linked their arms without thinking. Too close, too close, some part of her mind started warning, but Serena didn't seem bothered. She smiled and tightened her new hold on Vanessa, pulling her closer.

They walked like that, leisurely, through the streets back to the hostel. It wasn't far, so there was no rush. Just a strange new city to enjoy, and good company.

Just around the corner from their destination, Serena tugged her to a stop but didn't step away.

"I wanted to say thank you for travelling with me," she said, and started rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a tiny, wrapped package that she then pressed into Vanessa's hand.

"You didn't-" Vanessa started, and started to push it back.

"This is honestly the first truly good day I've had all summer. I just really appreciate you spending this time with me."

It was sweet, it was, and Vanessa was touched by the thought. She started picking apart the paper, and Serena relaxed against her.

When she was done, there was a delicate bracelet sitting in her palm. One which Vanessa had fleetingly admired earlier in the day.

"How did you manage to get this without me seeing?"

"Do you like it?" Serena asked eagerly.

"It's beautiful, and it's too much."

"No," Serena clasped her hands of Vanessa's, closing her fingers over the bracelet. "Let me thank you, please."

Vanessa nodded, and then squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Did something happen, before you got here?"

But Serena just shrugged, and then smiled again, and waved it away.

"It doesn't matter, just say you'll keep it?"

"Of course, I just. I don't know what to say."

Serena just linked their arms again and tugged her towards the corner, but Vanessa planted her feet and pulled back.

"Look, I know we've never been especially close. But you can talk to me, if something happened that you need to talk about?"

"Maybe later?" Serena smiled gently and started forward again. Vanessa let Serena tug her along this time, and it wasn't until they were almost ready to slip into their beds that she spoke again.

"You know, I had a good day too."

"You did?" Serena looked over from where she was fussing with her pillow.

"I did," Vanessa replied, and shrugged and smiling. "You were right, it was a very good day."

Serena stood and walked the few steps over to Vanessa, and wrapped a few fingers around her wrist.

"It was," she said, and then leaned in and kissed her.

It was brief, but it was also soft. They had to break away when another group of backpackers came bursting through the door, laughing and talking at the top of their lungs, but Serena held on to Vanessa's wrist so she couldn't pull away very far. She slipped her hand down to lace their fingers together and squeezed her hand with a smirk.

"I'm sure we'll have plenty more," she said, and quickly checked over her shoulders that no one was looking before dropping a kiss on Vanessa's cheek and climbing into bed.

 

*** * * * ***

 

_Spotted: S and V in lovers' hot spots all over Europe, while the boys stay home. Paris is next on the itinerary, but apparently S and V are already speaking the language of love. xoxo_

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Femslash09 exchange](http://community.livejournal.com/femslash09).


End file.
